PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has stopped the federal government from sending officials from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Saudi Arabia for the guidance and assistance of Hajis until further orders and ordered the production of the list of those sent to the Saudi kingdom against its orders.

A bench consisting of Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan wondered why its June 9 orders issued for the suspension of the moavineen-i-hujjaj nomination list by the religious affairs ministry to the extent of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been violated.

It observed that it would issue an appropriate order on the matter only after receiving the list from the government of those already left for Saudi Arabia to work as moavineen-i-hujjaj.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by several government servants, who were nominated moavineen-i-hujjaj by the provincial government after a draw.

The petitioners claimed that the federal government had violated the earlier order of the court for the suspension of the list of moavineen-i-hujjaj from the province.

The earlier court order was issued on a petition filed by 35 employees of different government departments, including assistant in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat Aftab Ahmad.

The bench ordered the clubbing of the petition with the earlier one on the matter and directed the relevant office of the high court to fix their early hearing.

The petitioners were represented by lawyer Malik Naeem Khalid.

The respondents in the petition are federal government through ministry of religious affairs, KP government through its chief secretary, provincial auqaf secretary, and several other employees of the provincial government who had been included in the list instead of the petitioners.

The petitioners said that every year, the government servants had been nominated as moavineen-i-hujjaj and sent to Saudi Arabia for the facilitation of Pakistani pilgrims and smooth Hajj operation.

They said that in compliance of that policy, draws were held by the respective government departments leading to their nomination.

The petitioners said that their names were communicated to the secretary of the auqaf department by the respective departments, who, after compiling the final list on April 11 communicated the same to the federal government, which was to prepare the final list from across the country.

They claimed that after preparation of the said list they were directed to get prepared their medical fitness certificates and to provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination.

The petitioners said that to their utter dismay when the final list from across the country was issued by the ministry of religious affairs on May 30, their names were arbitrarily dropped from it.

They contended that they had been nominated in accordance with the policy formulated on Apr 12, 2021, by the government for the purpose.

The petitioners requested the court to declare as illegal the list issued on May 30 and to direct the respondents, including the federal government, to issue a revised list containing their names.

They informed the bench that despite issuance of a stay order some of the persons named in the impugned list had already left for Saudi Arabia.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2022